DBase was created in 1979.

Neil Dunlop has written:

'dBASE III Plus'

'dBASE for professionals, with dBASE IV' -- subject(s): DBASE III, DBase IV (Computer file), Database management

You will need dBase or some other program that can read dBase files in order to open them. Otherwise you will need to get another program to open them, but they would ten be opened in a windows environment and in the program.

You cannot open the files directly in DOS. You need to have dBase and run it from DOS. If you have dBase, and you had it in a folder on your C: drive called Dbase, on the DOS command line, or going through Start and Run, you would type:

C:\Dbase\DBASE.EXE

Once dBase is running, assuming the dBase file is in the same folder, on dBase's command line type USE and the name of the file. So if the file was called names.dbf the command in dBase would be:

USE names

You don't need to use dbase environment to view your old dbase files. Just use NC (Norton Commander). Press View key (F3) on the dbase files to view. You can also browse your records with NC. It is simple than dBase..

M. De Pace has written:

'dBASE III' -- subject(s): DBase III (Computer program)

'Working with dBase II' -- subject(s): DBase II (Computer program)